Quick and Effective Ways to Check for Understanding

Whether you teach math, reading or ALL subjects chances are you want to make sure your students are ‘getting’ what you are trying to teach. As educators, we have a limited number of hours in our school day and every second counts, but it makes no sense to move from new content/material to new content if our students are not really learning what we expect them to learn.

I have compiled a list of very quick yet effective ways to check for understanding. They can be used at any point during the lesson. But remember, you should always model what the strategy looks like and what your expectations are. I have found that showing quick videos can go a LONG way. My students love to be in videos, but the Teaching Channel or TeacherTube has many great videos you can show as well (make sure you preview them before showing them to class)

1- Think-Pair-Share: Probably the most widely known and used way of having students ‘share.’ However, it takes time, and practice to really have students share in ways that are both meaningful and effective. How many times have you ask students to share and they share N O T H I N G? I have learned to take a step back and actually give my students time to think. I know…those 20-30 seconds may seem like an eternity, but they count. Also, I cannot stress enough the importance of modeling what this type of sharing looks like. Are we teaching students to take the time to turn (completely – not just their heads) and talk? Are we modeling what listening looks like? Paraphrasing? There is much more science behind ‘think-pair-share’ than just saying those words. I my classroom I make sure that students are always sitting next to someone, because chances are they will be turning, talking and sharing.

2- Mind Streaming: Here students also work in pairs, but it is a bit more structured. I assign partners either a letter or number (partner A and partner B for example). Partner A shares for a specific amount of time, while partner B listens attentively AND encourages/supports partner A. Then the roles reverse. (Mind Streaming is a component or part of Think-Pair-Share)

3-The 3 Minute Pause: After watching a video, reading an article, or listening to a lesson, students take a 3 minute pause (even though any amount of time 1-2 minutes may also work) to talk about what they just watched, read or listened to respectively. During this pause, students are expected to:

Summarize what they learned

Identify something they found interesting (a fact for example)

Ask a question they may have (clarification)

The 3 minute pause works really well for students who may need to hear certain information more than once. It helps keep them accountable

4-Exit Tickets: I personally love ‘boletos de salida’ or exit tickets. They can take as little or as much time as you decide. I try to keep them simple and use them particularly during reading time. For example, if I am teaching a mini-lesson on types of conflict, chances are the exit ticket that day will be centered around conflict (what type of conflict is present in the books he/she is reading independently?). Again, exit tickets are very versatile and they serve as a way for me to assess who is getting it and who needs additional help. I would normally read the tickets quickly as they are exiting the room or transitioning and ask questions right there and then OR read them later in the day and design conferences around misconceptions or troubles a student may be having.

I know there are tons of ways to check for understanding, and I am really wondering what you use in your classroom. Please share in the comments section about your strategies.